Our academics and researchers provide knowledge and expertise to local organisations such as Hampton Court Palace and the Metropolitan Police to help them innovate and become more competitive.

The University provides a higher education to many local young people (nearly half our students come from within a 10-mile radius of Kingston), as well as offering older residents an opportunity to further their studies. Every year more than 6,000 students graduate from the University, providing a much needed skilled workforce for the region.

Our staff and students are active in the local community, offering 3,500 hours of service to good causes each year through our award-winning volunteering scheme. We also have an extensive school visiting programme, offering educational support and encouraging local children to aim for university, particularly those whose family have no previous experience of higher education.

We celebrate in the rich diversity of our staff and students, which we want to share with the wider community. Through our One Kingston equality strategy, we look to host projects, events and civic engagements that promote diversity and inclusion.

The University's head of equality, diversity and inclusion sits on the executive board of the Kingston Race and Equalities Council (KREC), which aims to support individuals who are experiencing racial harassment and discrimination, as well as being involved in Kingston's various community engagement projects.

We have opportunities for members of the community to get involved in our mentoring schemes, Beyond Barriers. The mentoring schemes look to give students and staff from under-represented groups the best chance to succeed in their study or work, by pairing them with experienced professionals from the University or the wider community. We actively seek professionals to mentor our students and we encourage opportunities to collaborate on staff mentoring schemes too. To take part, contact us at beyondbarriers@kingston.ac.uk.

Find out what our community neighbours think of the University in this video:

We are continually upgrading our estate and have a campus development plan to improve the quality of the environment for students, staff and visitors.

The University is committed to sustainable development and we are breaking new ground both in terms of our own behaviour and the research projects we carry out, covering everything from design to engineering, aimed at reducing the wasteful use of the earth's resources. We work with the local community on many environmental projects, such as cleaning up the Hogsmill River or recycling furniture. For more information visit our sustainability pages.

We are aware that the influx of a large number students, many of them away from home for the first time, can cause problems for the local community, especially at key times such as the start or end of term. We have a range of guidance that makes clear to our students that we expect them to be good neighbours.

Residents' enquiries and complaints

The University has a central point for all community enquiries and complaints. If you would to make an enquiry or complaint, please get in touch via our online form.